All girls or mixed secondary school?

lostinrates

Incidentally, my parents briefly considered allowing me to go to a boys' school for sixth form (one other girl who I knew and liked).

peachyprice

Mojisola wrote: »

I went to an all girls school and was amazed when I came across this attitude that girls can't or don't want to study maths or sciences.

I went to a mixed school, my children go to the same school, can't say I ever encountered this attitude either.

Sezzagirl

We're off to view secondary schools soon for our dd, we have the choice of a mixed secondary academy (rated good by ofsted) they are an apple regional training centre which basically means that most school work is done on iPads, or an all girls school which has also turned into an academy (but only since sept).

You say you have a "choice" of schools for your daughter but, before you start to examine the options and your daughter starts to make a preference, it would be useful for you to find out how much of a choice you really have!

If you chose the Girl's School, which I understand is further away, but no one who lives as far away as you has been allocated a place in the last 3 or 4 years, your daughter is unlikely to get a place and you will then need to adapt quickly to prepare her for a different school. You can ask at the County Council and they may be able to give you details of the birth rate for your daughter's year - if it's low, that is an advantage

Having been caught out by the supposed "choice" in schools for my son, I would strongly advise you to find out at which school you daughter is most likely to be given a place and concentrate on finding out as much as you can about that school.

If that school is acceptable, remembering that no school is perfect, you can then start to prepare your daughter for going there

If the school is unacceptable, you can then start investigating other schools and start marshalling your reasons why your daughter should be given a place at your first choice as it is very possible that you will need to appeal after places have been allocated

I'm sorry if I am being very cynical here but I truly believe it is very unhelpful, especially to the children, to allow them to think they can chose their school when there is little chance of them being given a place there

Better to find out what is most likely to happen and build that into a positive experience

With reagard to the Acadamy that uses the ipads, you really need to talk to the School Leadership Team to find out exactly how the ipads are used. Then you can assess the facts not the rumours:)

mountainofdebt

lostinrates wrote: »

Incidentally, my parents briefly considered allowing me to go to a boys' school for sixth form (one other girl who I knew and liked).

Junior did this but (obviously) in reverse......he said spending 2 years in an all girls school taught him more about the way females work than he could ever imagined

Lunar_Eclipse

We have two girls. One is at a girls school and the other at a mixed secondary.

All things being equal, which they rarely are, I'd choose co-education. However in our case, the girls school was the best choice for one and a different mixed school was the best environment for the other. Gender wasn't a deciding factor for us in choosing the school, although in choosing the school for our tomboy, the mixed environment did help make the particular school we chose the best place for her.

Our overriding goal was to choose the right school for the child, where we all felt they would be happiest.

(Evidence suggests that academically, girls do better in a girls school fyi.)

Lunar_Eclipse

daisiegg wrote: »

I would send a girl to a single sex school in a heartbeat, but I would only send a boy to a mixed school.

Yep this, as a general rule.

When we looked at schools, I warmed to the happiness and buzz I typically noticed in the girls' schools. The few I visited had an incredibly energetic vibe to them (along with one mixed grammar school.)

A couple of the mixed schools we looked at appeared to be full of teenagers obsessed with the way they looked (constant playing or flicking of hair) and loud, flirtateous interaction between boys and girls which I thought was really fake. Again, this might not have been representative of the whole school, but it's so hard to tell.

So whilst I really wanted both of mine to go to a mixed school, I couldn't help but think no way in hell when we looked at some of them. (Although I am well aware that first, second or third impressions might be wrong!)

We were given what I thought was good advice about choosing a senior school: look at the Y11's (or 13's if there's a sixth form) and decide if that is how you want your child to turn out.

squibbs25

Wow what a lot of responses!
Thank you all for replying.

I shall try and answer as many queries as I can.

Sezzagirl: the only thing that could prove a hinderence to our dd getting a place at the all girls school is that it's a high girl birth rate for her year, her current class has 6 boys the other 20 are girls!
There are plenty of girls who live further away, past us that have places there. One even lives further past the mixed school (and always has) and had no problem securing a place :-)


As for the ipad thing, one of my concerns has already been raised by another poster, yes everything is ipad based, IT is apple all the way (Mac's in IT room.)


To be fair I am not making assumptions about the mixed school, my ds is in his final year there.
He hasn't got an ipad he uses the computer at home.
They do use (he borrows) the iPads in lessons but I do know for fact that the iPads got banned in English a couple if times as the kids were mis using them when they were first rolled out.
My experience of the school has not been fantastic but it could also have been a lot worse.

My son wanted to go to a mixed secondary and although we looked around the mixed was the better choice for him.

The thing is that the main focus is on the years 7-9 for them to all have ipads.
Our son leaves in a few months so a laptop or desktop is more than suitable for his needs also he has access to out ipad at home but its how it's all changing.
They are very ipad focused. The teachers are regularly off on training courses so its not going to change.

squibbs25

In not against technology but am concerned about the brain washing of one product only!!!

Its good to see others POV on all of it.

Our dd is very open minded and is excited at looking at both schools, although the mixed academy she is more familiar with as she has been there with her own school a few times.

She did say that the girls from the all girls school,look smarter though!!!
The mixed academy is no where as strict with its uniform policy looking at what I see the kids walking up in.
But in fairness do skin tight leggings stop a child from learning? Course not.


I will post back in a few days when we've done one of the open evenings.
:-)

devildog

I attended 4 senior schools; 2 Grammar mixed sex, 1 secondary mixed sex and 1 Girls School. hated the Girls School, closely followed by the 2nd Grammar school and loved the other two.

daisiegg

LandyAndy wrote: »

So. All the girls at girls' schools and all the boys at mixed schools.:cool:

Errr, no, MY daughters at girls' schools and MY sons at mixed schools